Founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner, The Motley Fool helps millions of people attain financial freedom through our website, podcasts, books, newspaper column, radio show, and premium investing services.
James Mickleboro is an investment writer and analyst who has worked with The Motley Fool Australia for 10 years, covering ASX shares, market news, broker research, dividends, growth stocks, and long-term investing ideas.
Over that time, James has written extensively about Australian equities and developed a particular focus on helping everyday investors understand the stories behind share price moves, company announcements, broker views, and broader market trends.
His best investment recommendation was identifying Afterpay while it was still a small-cap growth share, before its rise into one of Australia’s biggest technology success stories. His worst investment lesson came from CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL), where he was burnt by believing management could turn the business around sooner than the market ultimately allowed.
Areas of Expertise
ASX shares
Growth and dividend investing
Broker research
Interpreting company announcements
Market news
Portfolio strategy
Long-term wealth creation
Education
Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics. CFA Institute
"It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price."
— Warren Buffett
Published
If I were building an ASX dividend portfolio for the next decade, I wouldn't limit myself to the usual favourites.
Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS), APA Group (ASX: APA), and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) are popular with income investors, and understandably so. They have established businesses and a history of rewarding shareholders with dividends.
But I think some of the best dividend opportunities could come from companies that aren't necessarily on every income investor's radar today.
After all, a 3% dividend yield today could become much more attractive if the company doubles its dividend over the next five years.
With that in mind, I've been looking for ASX shares that I believe could become the next great dividend growth investments.
Five companies stand out to me, each with the potential to reward shareholders with substantially higher dividends over the coming years.
The first company on my list is residential property developer Cedar Woods.
I think this is an interesting dividend growth opportunity because Australia faces a significant housing shortage, and Cedar Woods has a large pipeline of developments that could help address it.
The company has been performing strongly, recently reporting a 36% increase in annual net profit to a record $65.6 million. This allowed it to increase its fully franked dividends by 34% to 39 cents per share for FY 2026.
And importantly, I think there is potential for this growth to continue. Cedar Woods entered FY 2027 with a substantial pipeline of pre-sold properties, providing good visibility over its future earnings.
In fact, its trading update this week revealed that more than 90% of forecast FY 2027 revenue had already been settled or pre-sold by the end of September.
Management also reaffirmed its target of growing net profit by approximately 15% this financial year.
The company has thousands of additional homes and lots in its development pipeline, which should provide opportunities for earnings growth well beyond FY 2027.
While property development can be cyclical, I believe Cedar Woods is well positioned to benefit from Australia's long-term need for housing.
And Cedar Woods isn't the only company that has caught my attention. The remaining four include businesses with international expansion opportunities, growing consumer brands, and even a relatively new dividend payer that could surprise income investors.
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